


Plus One

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-04 23:42:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11001453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: Midorima pushed up his glasses and looked at him expectantly, only needing to level Takao with his signature ‘just-explain-so-I-don’t-have-to-deal-with-your-shenanigans’ stare for a few seconds before Takao groaned and complied.“I might have told my cousins that I was bringing a date with me.”





	Plus One

**Author's Note:**

> Ughhhhhhh I am SO displeased with how this came out, but I figured if I don't publish it now, I'll just leave it rotting in my drafts forever.
> 
> Made for the KnB discord battle, Team Starburst.

“So, my cousin Akane is getting married next weekend, and I still don’t have a plus-one.”

Midorima stared at Takao blankly, and closed his textbook. They had been working on homework together for the past hour at Midorima’s house, and Takao’s comment had come completely out of the blue.

“Congratulations to your cousin. How long have she and Kageyama-san been dating again?”

“Two years, and-- that’s not the point,” Takao interrupted himself, looking at Midorima intently.

Midorima was always weak to Takao’s stares, the ones that showed he was really paying attention to Midorima, whether it was for mischievous purposes or out of interest or focusing on a game, though he liked to think he was adept at hiding that weakness. God knows how Takao would exploit it if he were to find out… or worse.

“Then what is the point?” He asked, silently relieved when Takao closed his eyes and leaned back against Midorima’s bed.

“The point is, I need someone to go with me.”

Midorima raised an eyebrow. “You’re not able to go alone?”

“Well I am, but I kinda… sorta…” Takao mumbled the rest of his sentence. Midorima pushed up his glasses and looked at him expectantly, only needing to level Takao with his signature ‘just-explain-so-I-don’t-have-to-deal-with-your-shenanigans’ stare for a few seconds before Takao groaned and complied.

“I might have told my cousins that I was bringing a date with me.”

“Why in the world would you do that?”

Takao groaned again- “Because I didn’t want to be that loser who didn’t have a date to an event that’s supposed to celebrate love and romance and all that. I’m not old enough to drown my sorrows in an open bar, and seeing everyone else being all lovey-dovey would make me sick.” He hesitated, and added, “Plus, I was hoping I could ask you to go with me anyway.”

Midorima’s jaw could have hit the floor in shock; He didn’t even need to look in a mirror to realize that his cheeks were turning red from the heat of it all. He ducked his head to avoid letting Takao see him.

Takao had this _problem,_ Midorima thought; A problem where he always flirted with Midorima, then teased him and joked about it later. Midorima could never tell if Takao was being serious with his flirtation, and it was giving him a bad case of mixed signals. But then again, he could only dream that Takao would ever actually return what Midorima had discovered that he felt: An intense affection. After all, Takao had thus far (in their year or so of knowing each other) only shown interest in girls, albeit a passing one. It seemed as though he was looking for “Ms. Right” or whatever the term was, and it saddled Midorima with unnecessary and unhealthy emotions. And so, he could never let Takao know.

If he agreed to Takao’s proposition, it could be bad.

“So… we’re operating under the assumption that your relatives think you’d be dating someone- in this case, me?”

“Yu-p,” Takao said, popping his lips at the end.

Midorima took several seconds to think it over.

Even if it was a joke, even if it really meant nothing to Takao… it would probably be his only chance to experience something akin to romance with the hawk-eyed boy.

“Very well, then. I’ll be your fake date. But don’t think you won’t owe me a favor after this.”

Something flashed across Takao’s expression when Midorima spoke, though he couldn’t tell what it was. For a moment, he entertained the thought that it might have been… hurt. But Takao’s expression slipped back into place shortly after, more chipper than ever.

“Great! I promise, it’ll be fun. There’s gonna be food and dancing- you know how to do classical stuff like waltzing, right?”

“Indeed I do,” Midorima said, and promptly put the rest of those thoughts away as he resumed studying.

 

_Fake_ date.

Takao had admitted that he wanted to bring Midorima as his date for his cousin’s wedding, and Midorima had thought it would be fake.

To be fair, he supposed the way he worded it might have made it sound as though he was joking- he may or may not have had a problem with flirting with Midorima and trying to cover it up as a joke based on his reactions. More often than not, Midorima would get this weird look on his face, like he was surprised to hear Takao talk about him in that way; What other choice did he have, though? It might have been the only way to keep Midorima from being disgusted with him.

After a brief discussion about the date, time, and requirements for the wedding, Takao pretended to study for another half hour before deciding to go back home for dinner.

“See you tomorrow, Shin-chan!” He called out cheerfully, and tried not to crash into a pole as Midorima waved goodbye at him.

_Fake_ date.

He found himself frowning as he walked, too lost in his thoughts to notice that he was approaching his home until he found himself at his doorstep. He sighed and opened the door, then removed his shoes as he called out to his mother to let her know he was home.

His mother, who was in the kitchen, called him over- “Kazunari, come here! I need you to slice the onions while I finish up dinner!”

As he entered the kitchen, his mother could almost easily detect that something was amiss. She looked at him questioningly- the hawk eye was hereditary, after all- and after several seconds of scrutiny, frowned.

“Come in and tell me what’s wrong.”

Takao shrugged, and said, “I asked Shin-chan to be my plus-one for Akane’s wedding.”

Takao’s mother hummed.

“Isn’t that good? He’s such a nice young man, and I know you’ve been meaning to ask him out for a while now.”

Takao blinked.

“You knew?”

“Kazu, you’re my son. Isn’t it my duty to pay attention to you? And the way you look at him like he hung up the moon and stars just for you…” His mother sighed, and smiled. “Ah, I remember what it was like to be that young and in love. Your father will be happy to hear that your green-haired friend agreed.”

“...Yeah, I’m sure he will,” Takao said, trying to ignore the guilt pooling in his stomach.

Well, there was no backing out of this now.

 

The Friday before the wedding, Midorima was invited to stay the night at Takao’s.

Previously, he had been told to bring his best suit- provided he had one, which he most definitely did- and had brought it along with him. When Takao saw him put it on to test if it still fit in the right places, he whistled. The deep black piece, in addition to the red carnation boutonniere that he would later wear, made his green hair stand out especially well, which embarrassed him.

“Relax Shin-chan, you look fine. My cousin will probably love your weird green hair as much as I do,” Takao joked, and Midorima only became more embarrassed.

_It’s not real, remember that._

They both went to bed early, since they’d have to be up at the crack of dawn to prepare. However, as Midorima found out upon entering the room, there was one problem;

The spare futon hadn’t been drawn out.

Midorima glanced at Takao, who laughed nervously.

“Aha… looks like we’ll be sharing a bed tonight. Better for appearances, right?”

Swallowing thickly, Midorima nodded.

“For appearances.”

Takao gave him an odd look, but then shrugged, and walked to his dresser to take out his pajamas and brush his teeth. Midorima, being the proactive person that he was, had brought his own supplies. The two avoided eye contact as they changed, averting their gazes from each other, and the tension in the air was almost tangible- for Midorima, at least.

Still, after getting cleaned up, when Takao practically leapt into bed with a cheerful “Goodnight, Shin-chan!” Midorima couldn’t help but think that he had to get over himself, for Takao’s sake- and his own.

_It’s not real. Remember that._

He turned the light off, practically crawling into bed and sighing deeply when he removed his glasses onto Takao’s nightstand. Takao seemed to tense, but while Midorima managed to feign sleep, he was awake enough to sense when the tension left Takao’s body and let him drift into sleep. It took a surprisingly long time. For several minutes afterward, Midorima deliberated on a thought; _would he care if I slept facing him?_ Eventually, he threw caution to the wind, and turned around as carefully as he could so as not to wake up his companion.

Takao looked gorgeous- not that he ever didn’t, but seeing him asleep and at peace was something Midorima was almost never privy to. He allowed himself two minutes to briefly entertain the possibility that one day, if he was ever lucky enough, it would be a sight he’d get to see again.

_It’s not real. Remember that._

With that last somber thought, Midorima let himself drift off as well.

 

When Takao woke up to the sound of his phone alarm, the first thing he saw was Midorima’s face, his eyebrows furrowed even in sleep and his lips slightly open. He was beautiful.

He wished he could dwell on the sight forever; Unfortunately, life was not so nice to him, as Midorima’s eyelids fluttered open to reveal his gentle(ish) eyes. He blinked once, twice, then backed away as though he had been burned.

“Mornin’ Shin-chan,” Takao greeted tiredly, trying not to let his disappointment show.

Midorima cleared his throat and glanced away.

“We should probably get ready.”

The rest of the morning passed as awkwardly as the previous night had; Neither looked at one another as they prepared for the big day, and Takao briefly wondered if it was better that way. Still, when Midorima had finished preparing himself, Takao couldn’t help but gape at how incredible Midorima looked in his suit- he felt like his own paled in comparison.

Midorima looked at him with an odd expression, then glanced away.

“I think your parents and little sister are waiting for us outside. Shall we?”

Takao nodded, and stepped forward, only to hear Midorima clear his throat. He glanced behind him, and watched as Midorima extended his arm out, offering Takao his hand.

“Shin-chan, are you sure you--”

“You were the one who wanted to look authentic, weren’t you? It would be better this way.”

Takao looked at Midorima, and prayed that his expression didn’t look as longing as he felt. Midorima must not have noticed (probably because he was pointedly looking away,) so he decided to comply. Gently, Takao interwove their fingers, letting himself sigh contently as they held hands. Even if it was pretend, even if it was for a little while- and Midorima had even untaped his fingers for the event!

Which reminded him…

“Shin-chan, no lucky item today?”

“Cancer is in third place today, scorpio in first. My lucky item for the day is a fork, which I’m sure I’ll acquire during the reception.”

Takao hummed and nodded as they walked out the door. When they emerged from the entrance, Takao’s mother smiled widely, proud to look at them together. Another flash of guilt passed through Takao, and he squeezed Midorima’s hand just the tiniest bit.

 

The ride to the ceremony was relatively quiet, which Midorima was grateful for. He was already well-acquainted with Takao’s parents, so the need for chitchat was minimal; However, Takao’s extended family was another story. And why was Takao’s little sister, Kasumi, giving him weird looks?

He didn’t have to wait too terribly long to find out what Takao’s cousins were like. As soon as they arrived at the venue- a lovely botanical garden- Midorima saw a trio of rowdy-looking children (two boys and a girl, probably not much younger than twelve) being fussed over by a man and a woman (both probably older than Takao and himself.) Beside them, a set of male twins, another man and woman, and a small child, looking on with varying degrees of interest and horror.

Takao grinned and waved, immediately catching everyone’s attention. The three children who had been arguing smiled and rushed over, one of them nearly tripping over her feet.

“Kazu!” One of the boys said excitedly, then groaned as Takao gave him a playful hair ruffle.

“Hey, Shuuichi! How’s it going? You weren’t being mean to Daisuke and Kyoko, were you?” Takao said warmly.

The boy- Shuuichi, apparently- looked away somewhat guiltily.

“Noooo…”

“He’s lying!” Kyoko jabbed him in the side, then looked at Midorima and beamed.

“Hey, you’re Kazu’s Shin-chan, aren’t you? The one who drinks shiruko and carries toys?”

Midorima turned a light shade of red, and Takao laughed at him.

“Yeah, this is Shin-chan,” Takao said warmly, squeezing Midorima’s shoulder with what could have been affection.

“Neat,” Daisuke said in wonder, and Midorima flustered under the scrutiny that he soon felt.

After introducing Midorima to the rest of his cousins, Takao glanced to the side and looked in the distance, noting that most of the Kageyama family (or so he assumed) was preparing to sit down.

“Ah, we should probably get going soon. I think the ceremony is about to start.”

Midorima nodded, much less embarrassed when he offered his hand to Takao to hold again.

The ceremony, as expected, was beautiful.

The flowers surrounding the area saturated the world with color and heightened the feeling of blooming romance in the air. The rings were exchanged, the “I Do”s were said, and soon, Kageyama Akane and her husband were met with a small but enthusiastic round of applause.

“Shin-chan, are you _crying?"_

“Certainly not!” Midorima hissed, wiping at his eye, “There must be allergens in the air from all of the flower pollen.”

Takao raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, smirking.

“Aw, but Shin-chan’s never been irritated by pollen before,” He said carefully and, as everyone else was turned to coo over the happy bride and groom, reached forward to wipe a tear off of Midorima’s cheek. Midorima bit his lower lip and looked straight at Takao, whose eyes widened.

“Maybe so, but I have been irritated by a certain smug teammate of mine.”

“That’s no way to talk to your boyfriend!” Kasumi huffed as she stormed towards the two, interrupting the moment. Midorima wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or even more worried.

“Come on, that’s just the way we flirt,” Takao said, smiling at Kasumi.

“Nuh-uh! Look at them!” Kasumi pointed towards the brand new Kageyama couple, and puffed her cheeks out in a huff. “They smile at each other and hug and kiss and tell each other sappy stuff! You don’t do any of that! How are you going to get married if you don’t even kiss?”

_“Married?”_ Takao and Midorima said in unison.

Midorima glanced at Takao, who looked equally caught off-guard as he did.

“Mom and Dad say when people love each other, they get married,” Kasumi continued.

“Kasumi, look,” Takao tried placating, “We’re both guys, you know we can’t get ma--”

“Cousin Kazu! We wanna see you kiss too!” A small voice piped up. Midorima recognized the speaker as Kyoko- who ran up to Takao, with Daisuke and Shuuichi in tow.

“Kisses are gross,” Daisuke complained.

“Well?” Kasumi demanded again, getting the attention of the small group, in addition to that of some of the adults.

Midorima looked at Takao helplessly.

Takao pursed his lips, and muttered a quiet “Sorry, Shin-chan.”

 

Kissing Midorima was even better than Takao could have ever dreamed.

Midorima was warm as Takao pulled him closer, pressing his lips firmly against Midorima’s and carding loose fingers through his hair.

For just a brief moment, Takao liked to imagine that maybe Midorima was kissing him back. But that illusion was shattered when he pulled away and saw the look of utter shock on Midorima’s face.

Without so much as another word, Takao ran.

Straight towards where the reception was going to be held in mere minutes.

_I really didn’t think this through at all. Maybe if I’m lucky the others will filter in and he won’t find me and--_

“Takao!”

Takao tried not to stop dead in his tracks as he heard Midorima rapidly running towards him. Instead, he pushed past the caterers as they were setting up (and miraculously not spilling anything, which he supposed he was lucky for.) A few fast turns led him to the door of one of the empty storage rooms. He was incredibly tempted to hide inside and wait for the storm to pass (or maybe just die in there, either was preferable) but before he got the chance to open the door, Midorima’s figure blocked it. And before Takao had the chance to apologize or make up an excuse as he usually did, Midorima spoke first.

“Are you afraid of me, Takao?”

Takao waited, all of his momentum screeching to a halt.

Midorima didn’t sound angry or disgusted- he sounded hurt.

“Of-- Shin-chan, of course not. I don’t think I ever could be.” Takao said, trying to assess the situation, and then, to try to ease the mood, “Besides, you’re a green-haired astrology nerd. Not exactly too scary when you think about it--”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Midorima looked at him piercingly, and now Takao really felt frozen in place.

“Every time something like this happens, every time I think I have an answer, you just give me more mixed signals and run away.” His voice sounded hopeless. “Are you really that disgusted with me?”

_What’s going on?!_

“Disgusted? I thought you were disgusted with me.” Takao laughed anxiously. “After all, I took our fake date a little too far a little too quickly.”

“What if I didn’t want it to be fake?”

That just left Takao confused.

“But… you were the one who said it was fake in the first place.”

“I did no such thing,” Midorima said, furrowing his brows, “You invited me to the wedding as your plus-one and when I…”

“...”

“...Oh, I’m an idiot right now, aren’t I?” Midorima said, pushing up his glasses to avoid looking at Takao.

Takao couldn’t help it any longer- he felt the first few bubbles of laughter before he couldn’t control it, letting himself nearly cackle. At Midorima’s alarmed expression, Takao patted his shoulder and tried to calm down, only succeeding minimally.

“Relax, Shin-chan, I’m not laughing at you, I’m just… you’ve never said anything like that, you know?”

Midorima looked away, embarrassed.

“And I should hope I never need to again.”

“Hey,” Takao said, still mirthful but much calmer, “Come on. Let’s be smart and talk it out then.”

This time, Takao offered his hand to Midorima, who looked at him hesitantly, like he was sure he was dreaming. Taking pity on him, Takao lightly grasped Midorima’s hand, leading them to walk together back to the main event room.

Thankfully, nobody had made a fuss out of their sudden exit (or at least, nobody other than Takao’s little sister and some of his cousins, but that was a different story) and, if Takao wasn’t mistaken, some of the partygoers looked amused.

Soon enough, light music filled the room, and Takao was finally able to relax completely.

“So, did you want this to be real?”

 

It seemed like no time at all passed as the two talked. Occasionally one of them would get up to reach for one of the finger foods offered, or make idle chatter with one of the relatives.

The conversation was surprisingly less like pulling teeth than Midorima would have expected.

“I can’t believe it,” Takao eventually said, wearing a smile brighter than the sun, “We’ve been pining for each other for so long and it took someone’s wedding for us to get our act together.”

“I suppose I should thank your cousin Akane then, shouldn't I?” Midorima asked, with a small smile forming on his face as well.

“You can thank me by catching the bouquet when I toss it,” said a voice from the side, startling both Midorima and Takao.

Kageyama Akane- the woman of the hour.

“Don’t think I didn’t see your little stunt back there,” she lightly chided the two of them, shaking her head and letting her dark tresses fall as she laughed gently. “We might not all have hawk eyes like Kazunari, but it’s a little hard to miss you two.”

Midorima flustered slightly- they had made a bit of a scene, hadn’t they?

“Oh, don’t make a face like that,” Akane said and lightly whacked Midorima’s side, “I thought it was sweet.”

Midorima cleared his throat and looked away, and Takao reached for his hand.

“I don’t think Shin-chan would look as nice as you do if he wore a dress. Although…” Takao joked, causing Midorima to look scandalized. _Note to self,_ he thought, _don’t give Takao any ideas involving dresses._

“Ew, you’re gross,” Akane teased, bringing them both out of their thoughts as she walked off with her husband. She paused, and then looked back at Midorima- “And don’t forget how I said you can thank me!”

Midorima nodded and watched them leave, then glanced back at Takao, who looked at him as though he had hung the moon in the sky. It was completely, utterly, ridiculously sweet.

He wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Too exhausted to write a funny message but you can talk to me at doomedtemperament.tumblr.com !


End file.
